Jaromír Jágr
| birth_place = Kladno, Czechoslovakia | draft = 5th overall | former_teams = Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins | draft_year = 1990 | draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins | career_start = 1988 }} Jaromír Jágr, born February 15, 1972 in Kladno, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) is a professional right winger who plays in the Continental Hockey League for Avangard Omsk. Jágr wears the number 68 in honor of the Prague Spring rebellion that occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1968, also the year in which his grandfather died while in prison. During the 2005-2006 season Jágr captured his third Lester B. Pearson Award and finished second in the Art Ross Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy races and broke many Rangers single-season team records. He is currently second (2nd) among active leaders in career goals, assists, and points, and is frequently regarded as one of the top offensive players in the world. Career overview Jagr currently plays with the New York Rangers. He still resides in the Czech Republic during the off-season. His father, also named Jaromír Jágr, is prosperous and owns a chain of hotels. The younger Jagr began skating at age three. At the age of 16, he was playing at the highest level of competition in Czechoslovakia for HC Kladno. Pittsburgh Penguins (1990 – 2001) Jagr was the first Czechoslovak player to be drafted by the NHL without first having to defect to the West. He was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He was a supporting player with the powerhouse Penguins that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. He was the youngest player in NHL history, at 19 years of age, to score a goal in the Stanley Cup finals. Before he had a clean grasp on the English language, he could be heard reading the daily weather forecast on Pittsburgh radio station WDVE in his broken, thickly accented English. He and teammate (and fellow countryman) Jiri Hrdina were promoted as the "Czechmates", a play on the term "checkmate" from chess. Some Penguins fans realized that the letters in his first name could be scrambled to form the anagram "Mario Jr.", a reference to elder teammate Mario Lemieux. In the 1994-95 NHL season, despite having tied Eric Lindros for the league scoring lead with 70 points, Jagr won his first Art Ross Trophy based on his 32 goals to Lindros' 29 goals. The next year, Jagr set a record for most points, 149, by a European-born player. Both his 62 goals and 87 assists from that season still stand as career-highs. His 1995-96 totals for assists and points stand as the records for right-wingers in those categories. Following Lemieux's retirement, Jagr was awarded the captaincy. From 1997-98 to 2000-01, Jagr would win four straight NHL scoring titles. In 1999, Jagr would win the Hart Memorial Trophy, as the NHL's Most Valuable Player as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award. In 1998, he led the Czech Republic's team to a gold medal at the Nagano Olympics. In 2000-01, Jagr was struggling to find his scoring touch and faced criticisms about his relationship with coach Ivan Hlinka. With the return of Mario Lemieux from retirement, the Penguins had two superstars but friction developed between the two; Jagr held the captaincy but many fans regarded Lemieux as the talisman of the team. Also, the struggling, small-market Penguins could no longer hope to meet Jagr's massive salary demands. Thus on July 11, 2001 they traded him (along with Frantisek Kucera) to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek, and Ross Lupaschuk. Washington Capitals (2001 – 2004) Later that year the Capitals signed Jagr to the largest contract ever in NHL history — $77 million over 7 years at an average salary of $11 million per year, with an option for an eighth year. However, Jagr did not live up to expectations, as the Capitals failed to defend their division title and missed the playoffs in 2002. Even when the Capitals reunited him with linemate Robert Lang during summer 2002, Jagr failed to finish among the league's top scorers or make the postseason All-Star Team during his time with the Capitals. In 2002-03 Washington managed to finish 6th overall in the Eastern Conference, but lost to the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs despite winning the first two games. This prompted the Caps to unload much of their high-priced talent in order to save money — not just a cost-cutting spree, but also an acknowledgement that their attempt to build a contender with high-priced veteran talent had failed. Disgruntled, the Washington ownership spent much of 2003 trying to trade Jagr, but a year before a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was to be signed, few teams were willing to risk $11 million on Jagr. On January 23, 2004 he was traded to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter and an agreement that Washington would pay approximately four million dollars per year of Jagr's salary. Jagr also agreed to defer (with interest) $1 million per year for the remainder of his contract to allow the trade to go ahead. New York Rangers (2004 – present) However, due to the new collective bargaining agreement signed before the start of the 2005-06 season, Jagr’s salary was subsequently reduced to $7.8 million, the maximum allowed under the terms of the new salary cap. During the NHL labor dispute in 2004-05, he played for Kladno in the Czech Republic, and afterward for the Avangard ice-hockey team at Omsk in Russia. Jaromir led the Czech Republic to Gold at the 2005 World Hockey Championships in Austria; and was elected a tournament all-star in the process. He also became a member of hockey's prestigious Triple Gold Club, players who have won a Stanley Cup, a World Hockey Championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He started strong during the beginning of the 2005 season and the return from the lockout of the NHL. He became only the fourth player in NHL history to score 10 or more goals in less than 10 games at the start of a season. His return to dominance helped the Rangers return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but injuries to Jagr and others contributed to a quick Ranger exit in a first round sweep of the Broadway Blueshirts by the archnemesis New Jersey Devils. Jagr scored his 1,400th point on a power play goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 2, 2006, pushing him past Jari Kurri into second place all-time among European-born players. He later passed Stan Mikita to become the all-time leader. On March 18, 2006 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jagr became only the sixth Rangers player in team history to break the 100-point barrier, and became the only Ranger right winger to score 100 points in a season. On March 27, 2006 against the Buffalo Sabres, Jagr had a goal and an assist, which tied both the Rangers' single-season goal record of 52 (Adam Graves, 1993-94) and the Rangers' single season points record of 109 (Jean Ratelle, 1972-73). Two nights later, on March 29, 2006, Jagr passed Ratelle when he was the primary assist on Petr Prucha's first-period goal against the New York Islanders' Rick DiPietro. 9 days later, on April 8, against the Boston Bruins, Jagr scored his league-leading 53rd goal of the season, breaking the Rangers' single-season goals record. After leading the league in points and goals for most of 2005-06, Jagr was passed by the San Jose Sharks' duo of Joe Thornton (125 points) and Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals), losing both the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies in the final week of the season. Jagr finished with 123 points, 54 goals, and 24 power-play goals, second in the league in all three categories. He finished third in the league in both assists, with 69, and +/-, at +34. Despite being inched out by Thornton for the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy (league MVP), Jagr won his third Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's outstanding player. However, just as in Washington, playoff success was not to be for Jagr, whose Rangers were swept four games to none by the New Jersey Devils. Jagr suffered a dislocated shoulder in the third period of the first game of the series, which kept him from playing at his top form for the rest of the series. Jagr had surgery on the shoulder after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs. On October 5, 2006 before the first game of the 2006-07 NHL season against the Washington Capitals, Jagr was named as the 24th captain in the history of the New York Rangers, replacing Mark Messier, who retired before the 2005-06 season. Jagr then proceeded to score a goal on his very first shift in the game, just over 30 seconds into the new season. On November 19, 2006 he scored his 600th career NHL goal on Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist, making him the 16th player in NHL history to do so. Powerplay linemate Brendan Shanahan had scored his 600th goal almost three weeks earlier, making them the first teammates in NHL history to score their 600th goal in the same season. On February 10, 2007 against the Washington Capitals, Jagr earned an assist on a goal by Michal Rozsíval to record his 1,500th career point. He is only the 12th NHLer to reach this mark. On April 5, 2007 against the Montreal Canadiens, Jagr scored his 30th goal of the 2006-07 NHL season to record 15 consecutive seasons of 30 or more goals. This tied the NHL record of consecutive 30-goal seasons held by Mike Gartner. He led the New York Rangers to a sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Rangers would fall to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On November 14, 2007 against the New Jersey Devils, Jagr scored his 4th goal of the 2007-08 NHL season at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey making him the only player to score a goal in 53 different NHL arenas off an assist from center Scott Gomez. International play Jagr has represented his country many times, but his play has been hindered by injuries. In 1994 he and Martin Straka arrived in the middle of the World Championships. The fans' expectations were high as Jagr was an NHL star, but before they were able to integrate into the team Czechs lost their quarterfinal game and were out of the tournament. Jagr was also hurt in numerous other games. The 1996 World Cup of Hockey also did not see Jagr at his best. His performance was hampered by the flu and it only underscored the poor play of the whole team. After losing 7-3 to Finland, 3-0 to Sweden and 7-1 even to relatively weak Germany, the team did not qualify for the playoffs. All this was forgotten in 1998 when the Czech Republic won the gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. It was only the third gold medal for Czech or Czechoslovak sportsmen from the Winter Olympics and it is still fondly remembered. Jagr did not play in the 1996, 1999, 2000, or 2001 World Championships where the Czech Republic won the gold medals. He was a member of the team on the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic where the expectations were high, especially after the team won all the games in the group, but they lost in the quarterfinals game. It was the 2005 World Championships that finally brought a gold medal to Jagr. Although he broke his finger in an early game against Germany, he played with it bandaged during the rest of the tournament and led his team to victory. More injuries struck Jagr in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was injured after a hit from Jarkko Ruutu in the game against Finland; he required stitches to his eyebrow. However, the injury was not as serious as it first seemed, and Jagr was able to play in the following games. He was unable to finish the bronze medal game due to muscle injury. Despite this trouble Jagr won the second Olympic medal in his life — bronze this time. On July 3rd 2008, Jagr signed with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Continental Hockey League a two-years deal after New York Rangers GM Glen Sather informed him the Rangers had no intention of re-signing him. Off-ice incidents Jagr has been the subject of several notorious off-ice incidents: *Although he has repeatedly denied that he has a gambling problem, he admitted in 2003 that he settled debts totaling US$950,000 with two internet gambling sites between 1998 and 2002. The first of these incidents centered around Belize-based website CaribSports and its owner, William Caesar, to which Jagr owed US$500,000. Sports Illustrated reported that Jagr agreed to make monthly payments to Caesar to settle the debt, and Caesar leaked the story to the press when Jagr stopped making payments. *In 2003, the IRS filed a US$3.27 million lien against him for unpaid taxes for the 2001 tax year. Only a few months before, Jagr had settled a US$350,000 claim for taxes dating to 1999. In the summer of 2006, Jagr sued his former accountant over a tax form that was supposed to have been filed in 2003, claiming that the form would have saved him $6 million had it been filed in a timely fashion (USD). Childhood Idols By his own admission, Jagr states that his main idol growing up was US President Ronald Reagan, whose "peace through strength" policy contributed to the fall of European Communism. Jagr kept a picture of President Reagan in his academic notebook, which if discovered would have led to certain punishment. Awards NHL: *Stanley Cup Winner - 1991, 1992 *Hart Trophy (MVP) - 1999 ** Finalist: 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 *Art Ross Trophy (Leading Point Scorer) - 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 *Lester B. Pearson Award (Players' MVP) - 1999, 2000, 2006 *NHL First Team All-Star - 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 *NHL Second Team All-Star - 1997 *NHL All-Rookie Team - 1991 Other: *Olympic gold medal winner for the Czech Republic in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano *Olympic bronze medal for the Czech Republic in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin *IIHF World Champion - 2005 *IIHF European Club Champion - 2005 *Golden Stick Award (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007) holder, which is the highest trophy an ice hockey player can get in the Czech Republic. When he won his 6th Golden Stick in 2005, he surpassed Dominik Hašek for the most such awards in Czech and Czechoslovak history; and in 2007, he won his 8th. *Czech Sportsman of the Year 2005, a trophy awarded by journalists in the Czech Republic *IIHF World Championship All-Star Team - 2005 * In 1998 he was ranked number 37 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. This made him the highest-ranked player to have been trained outside Canada.The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time, Hockey News, Steve Dryden (1998). McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 0771041756 NHL records *Most assists by a rookie in Stanley Cup Finals (1991) - 5 *Most regular season points by a right wing (1995-1996) - 149 *Most regular season assists by a right wing (1995-1996) - 87 *Most regular season points by a European-born player (1995-1996) - 149 *Most regular season points by a player born outside of Canada (1995-1996) - 149 *Most all-time regular season points by a player who started his career in Europe - 1528 (At the end of the 2006-07 season) *Most all-time regular season goals by a player who started his career in Europe - 621 (At the end of the 2006-07 season) *Most all-time regular season points by a European born player - 1528 (At the end of the 2006-07 season) *Most consecutive 30-goal seasons (1991-2007) - 15 *Most consecutive 70-or-more point seasons (14) (including the shortened 1994-95 NHL season, 48 games) *Most NHL arenas with a goal scored in - 53 New York Rangers records *Most regular season goals by a Rangers player (2005-2006) - 54 *Most regular season points by a Rangers player (2005-2006) - 123 *Most regular season power play goals by a Rangers player (2005-2006) - 24 *Most regular season shots on goal by a Rangers player (2005-2006) - 368 *Most regular season game-winning goals by a Rangers player (2005-2006) - 9 (tied with Mark Messier 1996-1997 and Don Murdoch 1980-1981) *Most regular season goals by a Rangers right wing (2005-2006) - 54 *Most regular season assists by a Rangers right wing (2005-2006) - 69 *Most regular season points by a Rangers right wing (2005-2006) - 123 Career statistics International statistics See also * List of NHL statistical leaders * List of NHL players with 1000 points * List of NHL players with 500 goals References External links * *Jaromir Jagr stats from eurohockey.net * *Fan site about Jaromir Jagr (in Czech and English) *Jagr stats on BHSA Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Jágr, Jaromír Category:Art Ross Trophy winners Category:Hart Trophy winners Category:NHL All-Stars Category:NHL players with 50 goal seasons Category:NHL players with 100 point seasons Category:NHL first round draft picks Category:Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Category:Stanley Cup champions